How to Answer Emails Efficiently

​Email is an important tool for communication before and after the sale. There are many reasons why customers and potential customers will take the time to create and send an email instead of making a phone call. And it’s very important that you answer their emails in a fast and effective manner in order to answer their inquiries, solve their problems or make the sale.

Yes, many potential customers and businesses ask questions first before making any decisions on larger than average, multi-product purchases.

Furthermore, there’s a good chance that those same potential customers may have sent that same email to your competitors just to see who responds faster, who’s more professional and who can fulfill their order. This is why it’s so important to answer emails in a timely and professional manner each and every time. Yet many businesses still have not realized just how important proper email communication is.​

Some resellers reply late or give no reply at all, while others send replies that are insufficient and do not answer the senders questions or concerns entirely. But if you’re able to reply quickly and deal with your customers in a professional manner then you’ll have one more competitive edge over your competitors. Furthermore, it’s not just a matter of replying to emails, it’s also a matter of using email etiquettes when replying to all emails.

Etiquettes display professionalism, efficiency and protection from liability as well. Therefore, it’s important to use email etiquettes when replying to emails at all times.​

Tips for replying to emails:

You can begin your email or email response with a personal greeting. For example:

Dear John Smith,

Or,

Hello John Smith,

You can also create and use a template for creating and replying to emails as well. For example:

Dear ,

Thank you for your email. In regards to your question(s);

You wrote:>copy and paste their question here

Type your answer here.

Closing: Thank you again for your enquiry. If you have any further questions then please feel free to contact us at any time.

Response templates:

You’ll also want to save your initial responses to emails as templates for future responses as well. As you will soon see, most questions from customers and potential customers will be the same type of questions over and over again.

And if you can have a pre-written response already saved and ready to go then all you’ll have to do is simply copy and paste your response into your email and then click send.

​These are known as response templates and can allow you to answer emails quickly and easily and in a detailed manner as well.

Customers appreciate a detailed response as long as it’s concise and straight to the point.​​

Keep it short and simple:

It’s also important to keep your email responses short, simple and straight to the point because reading an email is harder than reading printed text on other types of media. Furthermore, long emails can be very discouraging to read and may be left to read for a later time or discarded completely. That’s why it’s best to keep emails short, simple and straight to the point.​

Answer all questions completely:

When replying to emails, it is important to answer all questions and possible further questions as well. If you do not answer their questions completely the first time then they will continue to send you emails and end up taking more of your time. Or, they will move on to the next internet storefront in an attempt to resolve their issues. Furthermore, you can use this opportunity to answer any further questions that you feel they may have, before they even ask the questions. And since you’ve been saving your responses as templates, then answering possible questions ahead of time is just a matter of copy and paste.

Be sure to insert links to pertinent pages within your website as well. For example, you may want to insert a link to the product page of the product that was inquired about. By answering all their questions and concerns in a concise and detailed manner, your customers will be grateful and very impressed.​

Spelling, grammar and layout:

It is also important to make sure you use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation, not only to avoid leaving a bad impression, but to also convey your message correctly without any misunderstandings. Most email programs offer a spell check option and it only takes seconds to use. So be sure to use spell check in order to make any necessary corrections in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

The structure and layout of your email is just as important as well since reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from printed paper. And emails are meant to be read quickly. Therefore it is best to use short paragraphs and short sentences when composing your email response.​

Answer emails quickly and effectively:

When customers send an email they hope to get a quick and adequate response. Therefore, each and every email should be replied to within 12 to 24 hours or less. However, if you’re able to respond within a few short hours then that alone may impress the potential customer enough to close the sale.

When a potential customer sees that there is always someone there for them at a moments notice then they feel more confidant in making their purchases online from your storefront. Yet if the email needs special attention, such as the case with a large, multiple product order, then you can send them an email right away letting them know that you’ve received their email and that you'll be responding to them shortly. This will put the customer at ease knowing that you’re working on fulfilling their requests.​

Leave original message in tact:

When replying to emails, be sure not to leave out the original message (original thread), from the email. Be sure to click “reply”, and not “new email” or “new message” which will cause you to leave out the original message. And removing any part of the original message or sending a new message without the original message included would take away from the integrity of the email as a whole.

Furthermore, leaving the original thread out of the email can create confusion when the reader is trying to figure out what you’re referring to since most people cant remember every word that was typed before hand. Therefore, leave the original message in tact always, and just click “reply”.​

Read the email before you send it:

And most importantly, read your email carefully before sending it to the recipient. Many times, people are in a rush to type a quick response without reading what they typed and as a result send emails with misspellings and incorrect grammar. But if you read your email before you send it then you’ll have the chance to re-edit the email, make any corrections necessary to create a more effective message. Therefore, be sure to re-read every message you send before sending it to make sure you leave a professional impression on the recipient, each and every time.​